ISPSO 2012

European Regional Meeting

Spirit of change and the culture of imitation

in the organizational and social life
March 9-11, 2012
Sofia, Bulgaria
Organizing team:

Antoaneta Mateeva – co-chair

Haralan Alexandrov - co-chair

Toma Tomov - presenter For information:

Sándor Takács - adviser emil.psy@gmail.com
or
Emil Georgiev - administrator http://ispsosofia.blogspot.com/
ISPSO Regional Meeting
Sofia, March 9-11 2012
Theme:

Spirit of change and the culture of imitation in

the organizational and social life

What is the nature of the obstacles that prevent some groups,

organizations and societies from an authentic implementation of
their transformative ideas?

Why the initial enthusiasm with which part of the changes is

initiated in our individual lives and those of our organizations and
communities dissolve in the process of transformation?
ISPSO Regional Meeting
Sofia, March 9-11 2012
ISPSO Regional Meeting
Sofia, March 9-11 2012
The efforts undertaken in Bulgarian society during the last 20 years
for the promotion of democratic values in the public and
organizational life of its members is one example of this kind.

The reformative spirit with which the transformations started came

soon against a style of state governance and organizational leadership
that in fact abolished any effort for bringing difference.
 
Involved in asymmetrical power relations with European
bureaucracy, the national elites and the administration in particular
were faced with the formidable task of pushing the reforms often
beyond the capacity of the institutions and against considerable
resistance in order to catch up with the European standards.

Unsurprisingly, they resorted now and again to a strategy of

simulation, reporting inflated results and achievements as in the good
old days of communist bureaucracy, thus projecting to the outside
world a presumably acceptable image of the country.
ISPSO Regional Meeting
Sofia, March 9-11 2012
The idea of transformation was understood in terms of
several defensive assumptions:

1. The change is a matter of replacement of the existed

institutions and procedures with more democratic ones.

2. The change has to occur on the high level of the

government and organizational leadership only.

3. The change is a matter of learning the new language

and behavior but not reflecting on personal values
and positions.
ISPSO Regional Meeting
Sofia, March 9-11 2012
ISPSO Regional Meeting
Sofia, March 9-11 2012
There are two main reasons with which our team decided to offer this
theme as a focus of the regional meeting.

The first one is that the imitative culture can seriously affect the
efforts of these organizations and groups engaged with the
promotion of public relations that support recognition, tolerance
and solidarity between people. The psychoanalytic movement was
created as a systematic endeavor to understand the nature of such
processes and to offer practical solutions that will bring more
humanity and happiness in human relations.

The second one is that we see the regional meeting as a space in

which the professionals from different countries and areas of
practice engaged with such moral missions can find the necessary
recognition and support to share their experience with the topic
and will celebrate the common effort to find more productive ways
of overcoming such issues.
ISPSO Regional Meeting
Sofia, March 9-11 2012
ISPSO Regional Meeting
Sofia, March 9-11 2012
Participants

We are delighted to invite all

professionals in the field of
psychodynamic and systemic thinking
and practice concerning individual,
organizational or social relations of our
societies to come in Sofia and to share
their valuable knowledge and experience
and to bring back to their countries new
ideas and positive experiences.
ISPSO Regional Meeting
Sofia, March 9-11 2012

New Bulgarian University

ISPSO Regional Meeting
Sofia, March 9-11 2012
Regional Meeting Program
Friday (March 9)
17.00 – 19.00: Getting together and adjustment of the program
19.30 – 22.00: Optional dinner
Saturday (March 10)
9.00 – 10.30: “Leadership in the change of child protection system in
Bulgaria” - Toma Tomov (PhD, member of IPA)

11.00 – 12.30: Small group consultations and discussions

12.30 – 14.00: Lunch

14.00 – 17.30: Small group consultations and discussions

17.30 – 18.00: Closing of the official Regional Meeting

19.00 – 22.00 Dinner
ISPSO Regional Meeting
Sofia, March 9-11 2012
Sunday (March 11)
Optional visits of:

Central historical part of the town

Boiana church near-by Sofia

Vitosha mountain – skiing available 24 hours

12.30 – 14.30 Optional lunch

ISPSO Regional Meeting
Sofia, March 9-11 2012

Mountain Vitosha
ISPSO Regional Meeting
Sofia, March 9-11 2012
For application, additional information or suggestion,
please contact the organizing team:
Administrator
Emil Georgiev - emil.psy@gmail.com
Co-chairs
Antoaneta Mateeva - aimateeva@yahoo.com
Haralan Alexandrov - hari.alexandrov@gmail.com
For constant access to the main information about the
event see:
http://ispsosofia.blogspot.com/